Olympian Bode Miller on Monday called a Russian anti-gay law
absolutely embarrassing.

“I think it's absolutely embarrassing that there's countries and
there's people who are that intolerant and that ignorant,” Miller
said.

“But it's not the first time,” he added. “We've been
dealing with human-rights issues probably since there were humans.”

The 35-year-old Miller, who with five Olympic medals to his credit
is considered the greatest downhill skier in American history, said
that the law puts athletes in an awkward position.

“I think it's unfortunate when they get stuffed together because
there are politics in sports and athletics,” he
said. “They always are intertwined, even though people try to
keep them separate or try to act like they're separate. Asking an
athlete to go somewhere and compete and be a representative of a
philosophy and … then tell them they can't express their views or
they can't say what they believe, I think is pretty hypocritical or
unfair.”

The law, signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in June,
prohibits the promotion of “gay propaganda” to minors,
effectively banning Gay Pride marches and similar demonstrations of
support.

The controversy surrounding passage of the law and a push for a
boycott have cast a dark shadow over the upcoming Sochi Games.
Olympic officials this week have reiterated that the law won't affect
the Olympics.

“We have the assurances of the highest authorities in Russia,
and yesterday I spoke with the Russian delegation here in Olympia
again and they reassured us that the Olympic Charter will fully apply
for all the participants of the games,” Thomas Bach, president of
the International Olympic Committee, said on Sunday.